The present invention relates generally to lotion applicators, and more particularly to a novel body lotion applicator that finds particular application in applying a body lotion to one's back.
Devices are known which enable a person to apply a cleaner, such as soap, or a lotion to an area of the body that is generally difficult to access with one's hands or a hand-held wash cloth, such as a major portion of the back. The known applicator devices are generally characterized as having an elongated flexible strip of fabric material that may have multiple layers and has one or more pockets formed therein to receive soap or the like. Hand grippable handles, frequently formed by fabric loops or the like, enable the user to grasp opposite ends of the applicator and extend it across his/her back in a manipulating movement. Representative examples of such prior applicators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,404,401 (Novick), 2,035,014 (Schaefer), 2,730,745 (Norman) 3,674,374 (Jennings), 3,720,205 (Liebman), 3,959,841 (Horne), 3,977,796 (Gillespie) and 4,422,205 (Braxter).
More recent lotion applicators of the aforedescribed type have included features that are believed to enhance their effectiveness in applying a lotion to the user's back. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,013,171 (Almond), 5,035,523 (Allinder) and 5,251,990 (Vought et al.)
A drawback in the prior lotion applicators of the aforedescribed type intended to enable application of lotion or the like to the user's back is that they are of relatively fixed length. This can lead to difficulty in efficiently using a fixed length applicator by person's of different size who must grasp the ends of the applicator and try to manipulate it behind their back. Accordingly, an applicator of the type having an elongated strip of fabric-like material operative to receive a lotion for application to one's back, and having hand-grippable handles connected to opposite ends of the strip through elastic members so as to more readily enable use by person's of different size and arm length, while also enabling the user to easily vary the contact pressure applied by the applicator to the body, would provide significant advantages over the known prior applicators for applying a lotion or the like to hard-to-reach areas of the body.